Google to layoff hundreds as big tech layoffs continue in 2024

JUST KEEP COMING. THE LATEST, GOOGLE CUTTING HUNDREDS OF JOBS IN ENGINEERING AND HARDWARE DIVISION. DEIRDRE BOSA WITH MORE. >> THE LAYOFFS KEEP COMING, BUT THE NARRATIVE AROUND THEM IS CHANGING. CUTS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, THEY HAVE BEEN ABOUT REBALANCING WORKFORCES AFTER PANDEMIC OVERHIRING. BUT THE NEW WAVE MAY BE MORE ABOUT DIRECTING OR ALLOCATING RESOURCES TOWARDS A NEW GENERATIVE A.I. COMPUTING SHIFT. IT COULD ALSO BE THE BEGINNINGS OF A MASSIVE LABOR SHIFT ENABLED BY A.I. ITSELF. LOOK AT WHERE THE LATEST CUTS HAPPENED. AT AMAZON IT WAS PRIME VIDEO AND MGM STUDIOS. AT GOOGLE IT’S THE

HARDWARE DIVISION THAT MAKES PIXELLE SMARTPHONES AND HEALTH WATCHES. IF GENERATIVE A.I. IS A FULL PLATFORM SHIFT THAT AFFECTS EVERY PART OF ITS BUSINESS, MORE PROJECTS MAY GROW OUT OF THOSE AMBITIONS AND NOT EXIST SEPARATELY. SO, GOOGLE ASSISTANT, FOR EXAMPLE, COULD BE SEEN AS REDUNDANT. OPENAI LAUNCHED THE GPT STORE, A MARKETPLACE FOR PERSONALIZED A.I. APPS. ESSENTIALLY ITS APPLE APP STORE MOMENT, ADDING MORE YOU GENTCY. TUNE INTO OUR PODCAST AND WE’LL GET INTO THIS. JEFF RICHARDS OF GGV ARGUES RECENT TECH LAYOFFS ARE ALSO PART OF A BROADER LABOR SHIFT THAT IS JUST GETTING UNDER WAY. HE SAYS

THE ’22-’23 GET FIT TREND DOVETAILED INTO THE ’23-’25 A.I. ADOPTION TREND, DRIVING A MASSIVE UPSIDE IN PRODUCTIVITY. ESSENTIALLY COMPANIES LEARNED THEY COULD DO MORE WITH LESS. ALONG

COMES A.I. FURTHER ENABLING OR EVEN SUPERCHARGING THAT DRIVE. MARK ZUCKERBERG WHO LED THE YEAR OF EFFICIENCY HAS SAID AS MUCH. OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, REDUCED META’S ENGINEERING HIRING TARGETS. HE COULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST. LOOK AT THE HIRING TRAJECTORY OF AMAZON AND GOOGLE. IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2022, AMAZON’S WORKFORCE WAS GROWING AT A 14% YEAR-OVER-YEAR RATE. OVER THE LAST FOUR CONSECUTIVE QUARTERS, THE WORKFORCE HAS GONE THE

OTHER WAY. IT’S SHRUNK. GOOGLE’S HEAD COUNT. THEY PEAKED IN 2022 AND ’23. A.I. MAY MAKE IT SO WE NEVER GET BACK TO THOSE LEVELS. A NEW ERA OF EFFICIENCY THAT COULD STICK AROUND. THIS IS GOOD FOR TECH INVESTORS, OF COURSE. THOSE THAT ARE LONG. BUT IT RAISES BIG QUESTIONS FOR THE ECONOMY AT LARGE THAT HAVE BEEN ASKED PLENTY OVER THE LAST YEAR. IF THIS MOVES BEYOND TECH AS MANY BELIEVE IT WILL AND OTHER INDUSTRIES GET MORE EFFICIENCY, THAT IS GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON HIRING AT LARGE. THIS MAY JUST BE THE BEGINNING IN TECH.

>> THAT’S SORT OF WHAT WE’VE BEEN WONDERING IS WHEN THIS SHOWS UP IN THE MACRO DATA, IN THE MACRO ECONOMIC CONVERSATIONS. IS THE FED PAYING — WE KNOW THE FED IS PAYING ATTENTION, BUT THERE’S A LOT OF RESEARCH TO BE DONE. I’VE BEEN ASKING HEADS OF IMF. IF IT’S GOING TO HAVE PROFOUND AFFECTS ON PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH AND THE LABOR MARKET, IT’S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND. WHEN DOES THAT HAPPEN? >> IT’S AN INDICATION IT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. WE’VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION. EVER SINCE WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, BEFORE GENERATIVE A.I., BUT WE DIDN’T KNOW

WHEN THAT INFLECTION POINTS WOULD BE HAPPENING. THIS MAY BE WHAT WE’RE SEEING NOW. JOB NUMBERS FROM LAST FROM LAST SHOWED I.T. HIRING IS DOWN BY THOUSANDS. SO IT HAPPENS SLOWLY AND THEN ALL AT ONCE. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE LAYOFFS AT ALPHABET, AT AMAZON TO START THE YEAR, THEY COULD BE PART OF THIS BROADER TREND THAT AI IS ENABLING AND, LIKE YOU SAID, SARA, WILL WE SEE THIS IN OTHER INDUSTRIES, ESPECIALLY AS WE GET MORE APPLICATIONS